Black Hole silhouetted against the Milky Way Fall 2011 ASTR 2030 Homepage

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 schedule Fall 2011 ASTR 2030 Black Holes: Timetable

Week Topic Tuesday Thursday
1 Th Prologue Aug 23
Overview
Aug 25
A Vogage Among the Holes
2 Th 1
Special Relativity
Rules of 4D Perspective
Aug 30
Postulates
Spacetime diagrams
Simultaneity (pdf)
Sep 1
Time dilation, Lorentz contraction
Lorentz contraction (pdf)
Preparation for Project 1
3 Sep 6
What things actually look like at relativistic speeds
Rules of 4-dimensional perspective (pdf)
Preparation for Homework 1
Wed Sep 7
5pm Wed Sep 7: Last chance to drop for free
Sep 8
In class Project 1: Twin Paradox
4 Mon Sep 12
Homework 1 help session 6-7pm Duane G125
Sep 13
Homework 1 due in class: Draw a Relativistic Scene
Quasars, superluminal jets
Review Session
Sep 15
Midterm
5 Th 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14
General Relativity, Black Holes
Falling into a Black Hole
Inside Black Holes
Sep 20
Postulates of GR
Principle of Equivalence
Tidal forces
Sep 22
River Model of BHs
Falling into a Black Hole
Journey into a Schwarzschild black hole
Preparation for Project 2
6 Sep 27
Prof. Mitch Begelman
Census of known BHs
Supermassive BHs
Preparation for Homework 2
Sep 29
In class Project 2: River Model
7 Mon Oct 3
Homework 2 help session 6-7pm Duane G125
Oct 4
Homework 2 due in class: Sagittario
Schwarzschild geometry
Embedding diagram (pdf)
Schwarzschild Wormhole, White Hole
Collapse to a Black Hole
Oct 6
Spacetime diagrams
Penrose diagrams
Journey into a charged black hole
8 Oct 11
Rotating BHs
The inflationary instability at the inner horizon
Oct 13
In class Project 3: Andromeda: Under the Night
9 Th 8, 9, 10
X-ray Binaries, Active Galactic Nuclei
Oct 18
Prof. Mitch Begelman: “X-ray Binaries”
Oct 20
Active Galactic Nuclei
Gravitational Waves
10 Oct 25
Review Session
Oct 27
Midterm
11 Lew Hunter's "Screenwriting 434"
How to script a movie
Read Th Ch 4 in preparation for Project 4
Nov 1
"Contact" (1997)
Nov 3
"Walt Disney's The Black Hole" (1979)
12 Th 4, 5, 6
White dwarfs, Neutron stars, Supernovae
Nov 8
Prof. Phil Armitage: “Supernovae, Gamma Ray Bursts”
Nov 10
White dwarfs, neutron stars, and the nature of matter at very high density
Mass-radius relation for cold matter (pdf)
Preparation for Homework 3
13 Nov 15
In class Project 4: The Mystery of White Dwarfs
Wed Nov 16
Homework 3 help session 6-7pm Duane G125
Nov 17
Homework 3 due in class: Black Hole Threatens Earth
Video: "Monster of the Milky Way" (NOVA)
14   Thanksgiving Break
15 Th 12
Black Holes Evaporate
Mon Nov 28
You will receive email about FCQs
Nov 29
Hawking radiation
Preparation for Project 5 and Homework 4
Dec 1
In class Project 5: Compact Binary
16 Last week of classes Mon Dec 5
Homework 4 help session 6-7pm Duane G125
Dec 6
Homework 4 due in class: Hawking Effect
Last chance for extra credit, due in class
Dec 8
Review Session
17 Exam week Mon Dec 12
4:30-7pm Final
Dec 13 Dec 15

 Black Hole silhouetted against the Milky Way Fall 2011 ASTR 2030 Homepage

syllabus | timetable | projects | homework | clicker questions | weekly summaries | books, movies | images

Updated 2011 Oct 19